Kendall Kramer, 21, of Fairbanks, Alaska, is a really good skier. She stood on her first national championship podium earlier this month, when she was second in the 20km skate at Soldier Hollow. The following weekend, at the same venue, she swept a pair of races against a deep RMISA field. She has a Youth Olympic Games medal on her résumé, and a FIS World University Games medal, and a World Juniors relay medal. She made her World Cup debut in Québec City in March 2019; she had logged three World Cup starts before she finished her junior year of high school. I could go on (World U23 Champs in Planica next month anyone?), but she is clearly good at skiing.
But that’s not all. Kramer has done all this while attending her hometown school of the University of Alaska Fairbanks, which she chose over effectively any other college ski team in the country.
Kramer’s Strava account, during the school year, is not so much a portrait of a pro skier who structures her day around two workouts with a single-minded devotion to optimizing every aspect of her life as it is the record of, well, a busy college kid who is training hard, but who then has to go to class. Think a two-hour afternoon doublepole session immediately transitioning to a three-hour evening o-chem lab, say, or starting the day’s first workout at 8 a.m., hours before the sun rises over the midwinter Fairbanks landscape, to check off that commitment before attending class for the next several hours.
So how does Kramer fuel for all of this activity? It looks less like 17-ingredient chef-prepared meals, and more like instant oatmeal packets from Costco, boxed cereal, bagged tuna, or pre-wrapped Tillamook cheese pieces (also from Costco, assuming that the selection in the Fairbanks Costco is comparable to that of the Anchorage Costcos, which seems like a fair assumption).
I’m slightly playing up the low-prep sections of her day and diet here to make a point, but not much: As Kramer writes, this is “keeping fueled very much on the go and college budget friendly!”
If you would like to read the first entry in this series, from Sun Valley athlete Mariah Bredal, you can do so here. If you would like to read the separate but related content of what Kramer had in her feed bottles for that U.S. Nationals 20km (including, so help me, what kind of bottles her team uses; thank you, Kenny, for your forbearance), you can find that here. And if you’re a pro or collegiate skier who would like to contribute your own food diary to this series, please be in touch. Comment at the bottom of this piece, or email info (at) nordicinsights.news.
Okay, here’s Kramer.
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Here is a day during finals week with two sessions a day in between tests! So keeping fueled very much on the go and college budget friendly!
Morning:
Two options I gravitate towards for speed are a non-sugary, high-carb cereal, and an oatmeal with nuts, fruit and Nutella. I’m not the biggest oatmeal lover but instant oat packets that you can get from Costco with nuts, grains and fruit in them are very hearty and so quick! And can even be prepared in a dorm room with just boiling water.
Blueberries are good for your brain so I utilize the AK blueberries i’ve frozen from this fall 🙂 I am rationing them though so just on special occasions!
I’ve noticed cereals from this brand help me feel the best!
My caffeine of choice is Yerba mate tea 🙂 It helps me think!
Afternoon:
This particular day’s lunch was simple and I love it — three well-seasoned eggs and some buttered toast with honey 🙂 Both very quick and filling and cheap! Plus some cheese snacks that can be bought in bulk!
Evening:
This is a bit fancy but also very easy! It’s a Mediterranean bowl with brown rice, chickpeas, tomatoes, cucumber, kalamata olives, tzatziki, hummus, feta cheese and any seafood!
Here is the image of what I actually had, with sriracha tuna on top instead of the usual shrimp (to make it quicker). I also included a picture of what it looks like in a more aesthetic version 🙂 I eat this with some sort of chip or cracker to get more carbs!
This tuna has quite a lot of protein, and under $2 per package. I’d honestly recommend it if you like tuna, as it’s an easy and quick addition to meals to add more protein or density, and it could also be a snack on the go that has a long shelf life and is cheap!
I’ve also been really into these Poppi sodas lately, which are apple cider vinegar which is a prebiotic that helps with gut health and digestion, but they also are carbonated and taste like regular sodas which are nice if you’re trying to kick a soda craving/habit! Picture from organic chemistry class!
Extras:
I live in Fairbanks so Vitamin D is part of the supplement rotation…
And this decaf tea is awesome and helps me with inflammation!
